This in from the council, in their own words, Ed
The Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) has announced plans for two periods of strike action after failing to reach an agreement with the government over pension reforms – between 6.30pm and 11pm on Friday 1 November and 6am and 8am on Monday 4 November.
Residents are being urged to take extra care with fireworks and bonfires and are advised, if possible, to go to an organised event due to the reduced fire service cover during the evening.
Cover provided by non-FBU members
For the period of strike action, fire cover will be maintained on the Island by non-FBU members who will attend life-critical incidents such as house fires or road traffic incidents. Fire control will not be affected by the strike and will be operating as normal – people should continue to dial 999 in an emergency.
The fire and rescue service will work in partnership with the other emergency services and partner agencies to respond to incidents. Each call will be assessed by the fire and rescue service and resources will be deployed as appropriate with priority given to calls where lives are at risk, so in some cases resources may not be available to be deployed.
Don’t take unnecessary risks
Householders and businesses are advised not to take unnecessary risks during periods of strike action and make preparations to reduce their chances of needing assistance from the fire and rescue service.
This includes taking extra care when cooking or smoking, checking that smoke alarms are working and knowing what to do in an event of a fire and sharing this knowledge with others.
Take care at firework events
On Friday night, people are advised to be mindful of the reduced fire cover when considering holding their own bonfire or firework events.
Owners of non-residential premises are also being reminded to prepare by ensuring their legislative duties, such as fire risk assessments and fire safety management, are up to date.
Councillor Phil Jordan, cabinet member for public protection, said:
“I would like to reassure residents that the council has detailed contingency plans in place to ensure that life-critical incidents are responded to by fully trained fire and rescue service officers, but it is very important that people understand that fireworks can increase the risk of fire – and the fire service’s ability to respond will be limited during the strike period.
“It is disappointing that the government and the FBU have still failed to negotiate a satisfactory agreement which is resulting in further strike action. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do locally to prevent this strike going ahead as it is a disagreement at national level.”
Be extra vigilant
Steve Apter, chief fire officer, said:
“I would like to ask members of the public and businesses to be extra vigilant during the planned periods of strike action by checking fire safety arrangements and not taking unnecessary risks.”
Image: Walt Stoneburger under CC BY 2.0
